House of Commons Hansard #192 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was open.

Topics

Government Response to PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:20 p.m.

Conservative

The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

In my opinion the yeas have it.

And five or more members having risen:

Call in the members.

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

Vote #569

Government Response to PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

4 p.m.

Conservative

The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

I declare the motion carried.

Concurrence Vote on Bill C-45--Speaker's RulingPoints of OrderRoutine Proceedings

4 p.m.

Conservative

The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

The Chair is now prepared to rule on the point of order raised a few moments ago by the House Leader of the Official Opposition with regard to the manner in which the motion for concurrence at report stage of Bill C-45 was moved yesterday evening.

I have looked into how events transpired last night and can report to the House that there was indeed a clerical oversight in the moving of the motion for concurrence at report stage. However, members will know that our practices do provide for this.

As is stated at page 440 of House of Commons Procedure and Practice, second edition:

A government bill standing on the Order Paper in one Minister’s name may be moved on his or her behalf by another Minister since the bill is considered an initiative of the entire Cabinet.

Members will know that it routinely happens that sponsoring ministers are not present when their bills are either introduced or are proceeding through the various stages of the legislative process. When that is the case, staff assisting the Speaker with forms will note the absence, insert the name of another minister, and the Chair carries on, indicating that one minister is moving a motion on behalf of another.

Last night, the staff had duly noted the Minister of Finance as moving the motion for concurrence, but when the time came to move the motion last evening, the minister had stepped out, and neither the staff nor the Chair noticed his absence, nor, might I say, was that raised by any member.

This kind of occurrence is, in my view, a minor oversight. It is our practice to consider that this progress of government bills represent the will of the cabinet. I will again refer the House to page 440 of O'Brien and Bosc. One minister is often cited by the Chair as moving a motion for the sponsoring minister who is absent.

That is how events are recorded in Journals, since the absence of the minister was drawn to the table's attention after the fact by a member. As it usually does, the table followed our practice and the Journals were drafted to indicate that the government House leader, who we knew to have been present, had moved the motion for the Minister of Finance.

Accordingly, at this time I cannot find in favour of the opposition House leader. I find that the House can proceed with debate on third reading of Bill C-45.

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012Government Orders

4:05 p.m.

Conservative

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012Government Orders

4:05 p.m.

Saint Boniface Manitoba

Conservative

Shelly Glover ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House to speak to Bill C-45, the jobs and growth act, 2012, which is legislation to implement the next phase of Canada's economic plan.

Our plan will help Canadian workers and their families. It will help them by creating a pro-growth environment that will create jobs and long-term prosperity from coast to coast to coast. The measures in today's act are key to achieving this goal.

Indeed, the bill before us today includes wonderful initiatives to grow our economy, create jobs, support Canadian families and communities when they need it most, promote clean energy and enhance neutrality in the tax system, while at the same time taking into account the taxpayers' ability to pay.

So far, our action plan is working very well. Since July 2009, for instance, over 820,000 jobs have been created in Canada. That is the strongest job creation record in the G7, and 90% of the jobs created are full-time. But that is not all.

The World Economic Forum states that our banks are the soundest in the world. The OECD and the IMF predict that our economy will be among the leaders of the industrialized world over the next several years. Our net debt to GDP ratio remains the lowest in the G7, by far. All three of the major credit rating agencies, Moody's, Fitch and Standard and Poors, have reaffirmed Canada's top credit rating.

Only recently, respected head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, told The Globe and Mail the following:

Canada is...faring relatively well because of its fundamentals...and the way in which it has been properly supervised and regulated and organized over the course of the last few years. [...] Canada is doing a lot better than other advanced economies.

However, as we all know, it is not enough to simply maintain Canada's advantage among the major advanced economies. As we have said all along, Canada is not an island. We are not immune to global weakness from beyond our borders. There is no question that Canada will be impacted by ongoing global economic turbulence, especially from our biggest trading partners in the United States and Europe. That is why we must move quickly to implement the pro-growth, job-creating measures contained in economic action plan 2012 by enacting today's legislation.

For instance, today's act would help build a strong economy and create jobs by extending the job-creating hiring credit for small business, which will benefit over 500,000 employers and help them to create jobs. It would also promote interprovincial trade, improve the legislative framework governing Canada's financial institutions, facilitate cross-border travel, remove red tape and reduce fees for Canada's grain farmers. Supporting Canada's commercial aviation sector is a priority in this legislation.

This legislation also supports families and communities by improving registered disability savings plans, helping Canadians save for retirement by implementing the tax framework for pooled registered pension plans, improving the administration of the Canada pension plan and strengthening the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. It would also promote clean energy, enhance neutrality of the tax system by expanding tax relief for investment in clean energy generation equipment and phasing out tax preferences for the mining and oil and gas sectors. It respects taxpayers' dollars through changes, such as, taking landmark action to ensure the pension plans for federal public sector employees are sustainable and financially responsible and by closing tax loopholes and eliminating duplication.

It is true that the jobs and growth act, 2012 is comprehensive and ambitious. As we all know, the challenges that our economy face are neither small nor one-dimensional. In a fast-paced and uncertain global economy, where we face increasing competition from rapidly growing emerging markets like Brazil and India, we must move quickly to implement vital economic reform. However, as is becoming all too familiar, we have heard the same tired complaints from opposition members. They say, “Let us not move forward on economic reform. Let us not support the economy”. They say, Let us play partisan politics instead”. I say shame on them.

At a time of global economic turbulence, the opposition's amateurish political games and desperate delay tactics to block our government's continued support for the economy will do nothing but hurt Canadians. Make no mistake about it.

We are proud of economic action plan 2012, and we are proud of today's act. We are not afraid to debate it.

In addition to the many hours of debate in this House, our government led a comprehensive study of this bill. No fewer than 10 House committees, in addition to the Standing Committee on Finance, took part and held hearings on various parts of the bill. Over the past few weeks, those committees heard from countless witnesses who shared their opinions with parliamentarians and the public.

I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank the committee members and chairs, especially the chair of the Standing Committee on Finance, the hon. member for Edmonton—Leduc, for all of their hard work.

I would especially like to thank the members and chairs of these committees for completing their study in a timely manner to ensure that swift implementation of job-creating measures to secure our economic growth happen here.

In my time remaining, I will speak specifically to those job-creating measures, which become increasingly important with each passing day.

As I mentioned before, the global economy is all too fragile, as recent headlines can attest. Only two weeks ago, we learned that Europe entered a second recession. South of the border, the United States is edging closer to its so-called fiscal cliff. It is at times like this that our government must stay focused on the economy. This is when we must turn our attention to the needs of everyday Canadians in communities across the country so that they can continue to rely on a strong Canadian economy to support their families and grow their businesses.

We must stay the course with our plan for jobs and growth, which is widely considered to be a model for the world. It is this fiscal discipline that has served us so well, earning us the lowest net debt to GDP ratio in the G7. Indeed, this has been recognized time and time again by international leaders. Only recently, German Chancellor Angela Merkel praised our government's approach, saying:

Canada's path of great budgetary discipline and a very heavy emphasis on growth and overcoming the crisis, not living on borrowed money, can be an example for the way in which problems on the other side of the Atlantic can be addressed.... This is also the right solution for Europe.

I am so glad that the Minister of Foreign Affairs agrees wholeheartedly with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

It is this emphasis on growth I would like to highlight in my discussion of today's act, and in particular, the hiring credit for small business to help small employers all across Canada defray the cost of hiring new workers.

I am pleased to tell Parliament and all Canadians how well the credit has been received by Canadian small business owners. For example, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, representing over 100,000 Canadian entrepreneurs, explains exactly how the hiring credit helps their members:

The Hiring Credit for Small Business...is a popular measure among all SMEs but is particularly important among growing firms as it helps them strengthen business performance.

In fact, small businesses liked the credit so much in 2011 that they asked for it again in 2012, saying, and once again I will quote the CFIB:

The 2011 EI Hiring Credit was very helpful to CFIB's members, particularly the smallest businesses.... This is a relatively inexpensive measure that benefits businesses across the country.

Unbelievably, not only has the NDP voted against this measure time and time again, but shortly after the introduction of the jobs and growth act, 2012, the NDP finance critic actually came out against the bill's extension of tax relief for small business, oddly calling the hiring credit for small business “an across-the-board cut for small business”.

Let us forget about the NDP finance critic's odd reasoning. I want to explain exactly what his party opposed not just once, but twice.

As indicated in Canada's economic action plan, this measure allows for a credit of up to $1,000 against a small employer's increase in its 2012 EI premiums over those paid in 2011. For the benefit of Canadians watching at home and my opposition colleagues, I will take a moment to explain how this credit works.

Say, for example, Bill and his wife Linda own a small café and that, last year, they hired five employees. Their business's payroll was $125,000 and they paid $3,108 in EI premiums. This year, more customers are visiting their café and they have expanded. They hired a new employee, which raised the business's payroll to $150,000. With the hiring credit for small business, they will receive a credit of $732, which will cover the increase in EI premiums for their new employee, which will help them create a stable job in their own community.

To make things even easier, the Canada Revenue Agency will automatically calculate the hiring credit when Bill and Linda file their 2012 tax return. They will not even have to apply, which will enable them to avoid endless red tape and delays.

I would remind my opposition colleagues of the evidence we heard at committee that the credit is working and is having a tangible impact on the ability of small businesses to hire more workers.

Only recently, Corinne Pohlmann, vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, told me and other members of the finance committee that:

It's not always easy for every single small firm to hold onto every employee they bring on. We always say small businesses are the first to hire and the last to fire. They'll do anything they can to hold onto their people. We saw that through the recession very clearly.... [T]he way the EI hiring credit is now, it has also been useful for a lot of the very small companies.

If an issue affects small business, it touches 60% of Canadian workers and has a major impact on job creation, especially in a period of economic recovery. With that in mind, our government has long recognized that small businesses are the engine of job creation in Canada, employing hundreds of thousands of Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

We are proud of our consistent record of support for this fundamental sector of our economy, this year and every year since we formed the government. That is why, since 2006, we have lowered the tax bill of small businesses to help them succeed, even when the opposition has tried to stand in our way.

The NDP talks about supporting job creation, but let us take a moment to actually examine the record.

We reduced the small business tax rate from 12% to 11%, but the NDP voted against it. We increased the amount of income eligible for the lower small business tax rate from $300,000 to $500,000, but the NDP voted against that too.

While the New Democrats have never met a tax they did not like, they could take a lesson or two from the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, Canada's largest industry and trade association, with over 85% of its members representing small and medium-sized businesses. Despite what the opposition might have us believe, the CME explains:

Over 110,000 companies pay corporate taxes and...90 per cent of those businesses are small and mid-sized enterprises.

These are the companies on Main Street...in which most Canadian workers are employed. When businesses keep more of their profits, they have more money to expand [and] hire more people

We on the government side understand this, which is exactly why we are here debating the jobs and growth act, 2012 and the extension of the small business hiring tax credit. I urge all members to carefully consider the measures in this act, including other measures to grow our economy and create jobs, to provide support to Canadian families and communities when they need it the most, to promote clean energy, and to enhance the neutrality of the tax system.

While hope springs eternal that the New Democrats might come to their senses, their rejection of the small business hiring tax credit and other job creation measures in the jobs and growth act, 2012 is just another sign that their tax-and-spend agenda is out of touch with the priorities of small-business owners and hard-working Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012Government Orders

4:15 p.m.

NDP

Peggy Nash NDP Parkdale—High Park, ON

Mr. Speaker, I thank the parliamentary secretary for her comments, but I have to correct the record.

First, let me say that the NDP has long proposed a tax credit for small business hiring. We have also proposed reducing small business taxes by 2%. She has erroneously stated that we are opposed to these measures, but she has accurately said that there are measures we support that we have voted against.

Let me just clarify that briefly by quoting the Prime Minister, the leader of her party, who said, in 1994, to the then Liberal government, which was doing exactly the same thing as this government with an omnibus bill:

I just regret that we are proceeding with this omnibus approach to legislation which, because it lumps in things we support and things we do not support, unfortunately deprives us of the ability to support the government in votes where that would be appropriate.

That is exactly the situation here. Can this member explain why her government is undermining democracy with this omnibus budget bill and denying members the right to vote for individual clauses and pieces of legislation we support?

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012Government Orders

4:20 p.m.

Conservative

Shelly Glover Conservative Saint Boniface, MB

Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, this government suggested that we send portions of the bill for study to more than 10 other committees. When we count the finance committee, that is 11 committees that studied the bill. Eleven committees agreed that the measures in the bill would help us preserve jobs, create jobs, move toward long-term prosperity and ensure that our economy grows.

Unfortunately, the NDP continues to vote against all these measures. NDP members can say what they like, but when it counts most is when they stand up to vote for these measures. Each and every time they have had that opportunity, they have disappointed Canadians and have voted against every single one.

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012Government Orders

4:20 p.m.

Liberal

John McCallum Liberal Markham—Unionville, ON

Mr. Speaker, I was interested to note that the parliamentary secretary was boasting about how wonderful the hiring credit was. I would just like to ask her if she is aware that it contains flaws that actually punish small businesses. For example, it contains a hidden 7¢ EI premium hike. In addition, if a company is near the $10,000 limit, it can be penalized if it hires more workers or if it increases the wages of its workers.

These deficiencies were made very clear in committee, and the Liberals proposed amendments that would have fixed these deficiencies, yet the government rejected them. Why did the Conservatives not correct these deficiencies, which serve only to punish the small businesses she is claiming to help?

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012Government Orders

4:20 p.m.

Conservative

Shelly Glover Conservative Saint Boniface, MB

Once again, Mr. Speaker, the member has erred. Approximately 536,000 businesses took advantage of the hiring credit for small businesses the first time around. They continued to ask the government to put forward an extension of the hiring credit.

I find it odd that the Liberals would even stand to ask questions at this time, given what they did in committee to try to block all of these measures from going forward by putting forward 3,000 frivolous amendments. Hours of time were wasted. Money from taxpayers' pockets was spent on frivolous, wasteful time spent. What did they put forward as amendments? They were trying to ensure that tax loopholes were not closed. They were trying to protect people who take advantage of the tax system.

That member ought to go back to his caucus and figure out why it is they are trying to protect those who take advantage of our generosity and our tax system.

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012Government Orders

4:20 p.m.

Conservative

John Carmichael Conservative Don Valley West, ON

Mr. Speaker, the opposition has promoted a job-killing carbon tax. Clearly, for small and medium businesses, that would be the demise of our economy.

I wonder if my colleague would speak to some of the initiatives in a little greater depth, such as reducing taxes for small and medium enterprises, the pooled registered pension plan, and other incentives that help small businesses thrive.

I wonder if she would address some of those issues in a little greater depth and talk about what this government is doing to ensure that small and medium-sized businesses thrive in this country.

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012Government Orders

4:20 p.m.

Conservative

Shelly Glover Conservative Saint Boniface, MB

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his insightful question, and I want to say how proud I am of his interventions here in the House. He has been very influential as we move forward, bill after bill, to try to protect jobs and create growth here in this country.

I have to say that when it comes to small businesses, it is this government that has done the most to ensure that they prosper. In fact, as I look at some of the initiatives in the budget implementation act that, unfortunately, the opposition did not support, I think very clearly about our youth and the troubles they have had and the $50 million we put toward the youth employment strategy that is so key to ensuring that our youth progress and become the leaders of tomorrow. They are willing to do that now. They need some support. Unfortunately, the NDP and the Liberals continue to deny them access to those kinds of funds, whereas we on this side of the House are prepared, very quickly, to move those things forward through the bill.

I would ask that the opposition today vote in support of those kinds of measures, including the other job creation measures in the budget implementation act.

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012Government Orders

4:25 p.m.

Independent

Bruce Hyer Independent Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON

Mr. Speaker, there was much in that speech that talked about the platitudes of standing up for business and economic development that I disagree with, but I would like to focus on just one aspect.

To reduce the small business tax rate over the last six years by 1% was a step in the right direction, but a really feeble step. The step in the wrong direction was the reduction of the large corporate tax rate similar to the United States at well over 30% down to 15%, with no criteria for job creation or investment in Canada. When we look at the facts, most of the dollars that have been given away to those large corporations have gone to the ridiculous salaries of CEOs and moving money to offshore tax shelters. The real investment has been in the United States not in Canada.

When will you either raise the rates back up to something comparable to the U.S. or ensure there is real criteria for real economic development in Canada?

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012Government Orders

4:25 p.m.

Conservative

The Acting Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

I would remind hon. members to direct their comments and questions through the Chair.

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance.

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012Government Orders

4:25 p.m.

Conservative

Shelly Glover Conservative Saint Boniface, MB

Mr. Speaker, I draw the contrast between that member and this side of the House. We can obviously see the member is in favour of higher taxes. He would vote in favour of higher taxes at any opportunity that presented itself. We on this side have lowered taxes over 140 times, which leaves an average family in Canada with $3,100 extra in its pocket.

Let us talk about some of those things that we did so small business could thrive. We provided $110 million per year to the National Research Council to double support to small businesses through the IRAP program, something that was very well received. We provided $95 million over three years and $40 million per year ongoing for the Canadian innovation commercialization program. We provided $14 million to industrial research and development internship so PhD students could also take part in ensuring the economy grew.

These are measures we put forward along with 140 tax decreases. I wish the member would get on board and help us.

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012Government Orders

4:25 p.m.

NDP

Mike Sullivan NDP York South—Weston, ON

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary has not dealt with some of the things in the budget that do not belong in a budget. I am talking about the Navigable Waters Protection Act, which strips environmental protection from some 30,000 lakes and rivers in the country. This follows hard on the heels of the government's elimination, or almost elimination, of any environmental assessments required by Bill C-38, which was also a budgetary bill.

Could the minister explain how a handful of small lakes in Muskoka, which do not have any navigation on them except for a few pleasure boats that belong to people with large and expensive cottages, are protected under the act, but other similarly large lakes in Quebec and other places in Canada lose their protection.

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012Government Orders

December 5th, 2012 / 4:25 p.m.

Conservative

Shelly Glover Conservative Saint Boniface, MB

Mr. Speaker, the minister is not present so I hope the parliamentary secretary's answer will suffice in this case.

With regard to the Navigable Waters Protection Act, that member and his party have asked this question a number of times and, for whatever reason, they do not seem to understand that those bodies of water are already protected under the Environmental Assessment Act. There are a number of acts that protect different bodies of water across the country, but the Navigable Waters Protection Act is designed to protect shipping and navigation. That is what it is about and that is what it is focused on. Our government will move forward to ensure there are no delays in growing our economy in this area.

I would ask my colleague to really think about what I have said, because to mislead Canadians in thinking the Environmental Assessment Act does not cover those bodies of water is really not quite fair.

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012Government Orders

4:30 p.m.

Conservative

The Acting Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

It is my duty, pursuant to Standing Order 38, to inform the House that the questions to be raised tonight at the time of adjournment are as follows: the hon. member for Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, Fisheries and Oceans; the hon. member for Terrebonne—Blainville, Privacy; and the hon. member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, Employment Insurance.

Resuming debate. The hon. member for Parkdale—High Park.

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012Government Orders

4:30 p.m.

NDP

Peggy Nash NDP Parkdale—High Park, ON

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to, once again, express the official opposition's strong objection to Bill C-45, the second budget implementation bill that we have seen this year.

In the spring, Bill C-38 attacked old age security, forcing people to wait two more years to claim their benefits. It attacked employment insurance and health care transfers and turned back the clock on environmental regulation. Now, with Bill C-45, it shows the Conservatives have not learned their lesson. They did not listen to Canadians, who were outraged by that first Trojan horse budget bill.

Bill C-45 continues on the path set by this spring's budget bill, further weakening our ability to protect the environment and ensure sustainable development for future generations. It would completely gut the Navigable Waters Protection Act. We have heard about the loss of protection for 40,000 lakes and 2.5 million rivers. In addition, it would further erode the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

The disturbing Conservative trend toward the concentration of power also continues in Bill C-45. The bill would dismantle a series of commissions and give more power to ministers to make decisions without accountability.

However, there are new problems too. The combined effect of the Conservatives' proposed changes to the SR&ED tax credit, the research and development tax program, will be to reduce government support for business research and development at a time when Canadian businesses most need to increase innovation and productivity to succeed in an increasingly global economy. These changes are also likely to drive firms to move their R and D activities to other countries with better incentives.

The New Democrats are also concerned by the proposed changes to public service pensions that will create a two-tiered work force in which younger people will have to work longer for the same retirement benefit. These changes come in the context where the Conservative government is failing to take action on youth unemployment and crippling student debt, while also making young people, especially, work longer in the future to qualify for old age security benefits.

The bill talks about jobs, but let us be clear. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has estimated that this budget bill will cost 43,000 Canadians their jobs. When combined with previous rounds of cuts, the Parliamentary Budget Officer projects a total of 102,000 jobs lost.

As a result of these job cuts, economic forecasters have been revising their projections for the Canadian economy downwards. In fact, on the day Bill C-45 was released, the Minister of Finance suggested a downgrade would be announced in the fall economic update. Sure enough, the minister announced, during the November fall break, that the government would fall short of its own deficit targets.

Worse still, Conservatives have failed to outline any contingency plan to deal with the slowing growth and increasingly negative fiscal indicators. In the third quarter, Canada's GDP grew only by 0.6%, even lower than the Bank of Canada projected rate of 1%. Ongoing volatility in the global economy poses a significant risk to Canada's future economic growth.

The official opposition New Democrats believe strongly that the federal government should take action now to safeguard the Canadian economy against outside risks, such as an escalation of the eurozone crisis, which is back in recession, or a worsening of the American economy.

There are internal risks as well. Ultra-low borrowing rates, which have remained unchanged for more than two years, are fuelling unprecedented household debt.

Increased inequality is one of Canada's greatest challenges.

Most Canadians' real wages have remained stagnant for several years now. In fact, the average income of Canadians has increased by only 5.5% over a period of 33 years.

According to the Conference Board of Canada, income inequality is growing faster in Canada than it is in the United States. Much of this growing inequality can be attributed to an increase in the revenues of the richest 1% of the population. Canadians who belong to that 1% have increased their share of the nation's total revenue from 8.1% in 1980 to 13.3% in 2007.

In fact, Canadians in that 1% are responsible for nearly one-third of total income growth between 1997 and 2007. This growth occurred at the expense of other income groups.

Youth unemployment is still a major crisis. Unemployment for youth is at 15%, up 1% from last year, and there are 70,000 fewer youth jobs than one year ago. Food bank use increased again last year and is up 31% compared to pre-recession levels for youths. Nearly one in five food bank users is currently or was recently employed. That is from the Food Bank of Canada.

In 2009 a report from the UN rapporteur for adequate housing found that Canada had been lagging in its commitments for social housing and to end homelessness. With three million Canadians living in housing insecurity, Canada remains the only G8 country in the world without a national housing strategy.

Unfortunately, the Conservatives are focused on austerity measures that will act as a further drag on our economy. Multiple witnesses confirmed at the finance committee that Bill C-45's proposed changes to the SR&ED program would kill jobs and hinder innovation, which is a key factor in economic growth. Even worse, innovation is the best solution to Canada's two decade long productivity slump and the cuts to SR&ED will only further weaken Canadian productivity growth.

That is not just New Democrats saying that. Let us hear from Warren Everson of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce who confirmed at the finance committee, “The budget 2012 decision to cut a quarter of the SR and ED tax credit was, in our opinion, a step in the wrong direction”.

Let us hear from Martin Lavoie of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters who raised similar concern at the industry committee this November. He said:

Thus far, $633 million will be withdrawn and $333 million reinjected annually. That is a ratio of two to one. Will other measures eventually be announced? I do not know and we cannot really rely on that. What we are also hearing from our members...is that we cannot base our future investments on what we do not know. What we do know is that SR&ED will be reduced. We do not know whether there will be new types of direct sectoral investment.

How can businesses plan for job creation and investment with the government's piecemeal approach?

The Conservatives have no comprehensive plan to create jobs. Instead, Bill C-45 is another one of these 400-page budget bills that lumps together a large number of unrelated measures. It modifies, amends or repeals over 60 other pieces of legislation and contains an entirely new act, the bridge to strengthen trade act, on the Detroit-Windsor bridge, which we would like to support, but it is lumped in with many other measures that we do not support, hence our opposition to this omnibus budget bill.

The NDP did everything it could to study the bill at depth at committee and improve it. However, on every occasion, the Conservatives refused to work with the official opposition. While New Democrats worked hard to ensure that the content of Bill C-45 received full examination and that substantive amendments were proposed to the bill, we saw our Liberal colleagues join with the Conservatives in order to support stricter time allocations for the finance committee. We did not agree with that.

The committee did vote on every substantive amendment, every submitted amendment to Bill C-45 during the clause-by-clause study. However, it was clear that the Conservatives would not consider any amendments to Bill C-45, even despite compelling witness testimony that some of the measures in the bill would have significant consequences for Canadians and the Canadian economy.

While the Liberals and Conservatives have used the committee process to play partisan games, New Democrats remain dedicated to giving Bill C-45 much needed scrutiny and debate on behalf of all Canadians.

Unfortunately, the Conservatives continue to show that they are more interested and invested in ramming through their agenda than in staying accountable to Canadians, and Canadians are taking notice. Let me just offer some other points of view.

Stuart Wuttke of the Assembly of First Nations noted at the fisheries and oceans committee:

—my appearance today does not qualify as consultation with first nations. The Assembly of First Nations is a political organization and the first nations themselves are the individual rights holders of aboriginal rights and treaty rights. A robust consultation will be required by the Government of Canada with first nations across Canada....

Clearly, that has not happened.

Tony Maas of the World Wildlife Fund Canada raised a similar point at the transport committee, in saying:

I am a believer in participatory democracy. While I appreciate the opportunity to speak to the committee today, I do not claim to be, and should not be considered, a representative voice for conservation organizations or for others whose navigation rights and waters may be negatively impacted by the changes in the proposed bill.

I cannot emphasize strongly enough that Bill C-45 is yet another massive omnibus bill making amendments to a wide range of laws, and once again the Conservatives are trying to ram legislation through Parliament without allowing Canadians and their MPs to thoroughly examine it. Of course, we are seeing the sad spectacle of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, whose position was created by the current government, being forced to take the government to court to get basic information that he and, therefore, parliamentarians need to do our jobs. It is unbelievable that we are in this situation.

The NDP did everything in its power to have this bad bill split, but the Conservatives refused to do so. We then tried to thoroughly examine it in committee, but the Conservatives did not accept any of our amendments. Finally, we tried to delay the final vote because we still had hope that we could convince this short-sighted government to improve this monster bill.

Canadians deserve better. However, the Conservatives systematically refuse to listen to them and to work with the official opposition to pass laws that would make Canada a better place to live in instead of destroying our country little by little.

Our New Democrat team opposes budget 2012 and this implementation bill unless it is amended to focus on the priorities of Canadians, really creating good-quality jobs, not just putting the word “jobs” in the title of a bill; protecting our environment; strengthening our health care system; protecting retirement security for all; and ensuring open and transparent government. These are the priorities that Canadians tell us they care about. We have consulted throughout this process in our ridings, in our communities and across Canada and this is what Canadians have told us. They have serious concerns about both the process of this omnibus budget bill and the specific content contained therein.

With that, I therefore move:

That the motion be amended by deleting all the words after the word “That” and substituting the following:

this House decline to give third reading to Bill C-45, A second Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 29, 2012 and other measures, because it:

(a) weakens Canadians' confidence in the work of Parliament, decreases transparency and erodes democratic process by concentrating changes to over 60 pieces of legislation in one omnibus 400 page bill under the guise of a budgetary bill;

(b) continues to roll back Canadian environmental protection measures by gutting the Navigable Waters Protection Act and further weakens the Fisheries and Canadian Environmental Assessment Acts;

(c) fails to provide substantive measures to create good Canadian jobs and stimulate meaningful long-term growth and recovery;

(d) reduces much needed job-creating tax credits for Scientific Research and Experimental Development; and

(e) creates a two-tiered workforce in the public sector that discriminates against new hires.

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4:45 p.m.

Conservative

The Acting Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

Questions and comments.

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4:45 p.m.

Conservative

Earl Dreeshen Conservative Red Deer, AB

Mr. Speaker, when listening to the member opposite, I was thinking back to when I had a chance to speak with Preston Manning. He had discussed the success of his father, Ernest Manning, in the province of Alberta. He said that the best policy they had was the fact that the NDP kept being elected in Saskatchewan, which of course drove all of the economic activity into the province of Alberta.

This is the same type of situation, I believe, that we have here. The member felt it was a fact that MPs did not really have a chance to look at this. However, if she had attended, as I did, the six and a half hour technical briefing that took place, maybe then she would be able to see just how each and every one of the amendments to the different acts need to be included, so that they match the jobs and growth budget we presented earlier.

Looking at all of those types of things and the concern that we keep our economy growing, I wonder if the member could comment on the fact that all the opposition has been talking about has been increased taxes. They demonstrated their concerns when we reduced the GST from 7% down to 5%, and talked about how they would increase taxes, using a carbon tax.

What does the member think is going to happen if their policies are enacted?

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4:45 p.m.

NDP

Peggy Nash NDP Parkdale—High Park, ON

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure what the question was.

Let me just correct my colleague opposite. Of course, I was at the technical briefing and heard the officials from Finance and other departments, who were kept there until the wee hours of the morning.

However, what we have objected to and what the Prime Minister objected to when he was in opposition is the practice of lumping together so many different changes to laws that have nothing to do with the budget.

Why would the government not allow the changes to the Navigable Waters Protection Act to go to the appropriate committee where MPs who are specialists in that field can call witnesses and actually debate and vote on those changes? That would be transparency.

There are sections in this bill that, if the government would carve them out of the legislation before us and table them separately, the opposition would vote for today. Why will the government not do that?

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4:50 p.m.

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB

Mr. Speaker, I was somewhat taken aback by the member. At times, people have no shame and the New Democratic Party really has to start looking at itself in the mirror.

The member said that the Liberals supported the Conservatives at committee. It is very important for people to realize that there has only been one political party in the chamber that has consistently objected to and fought against Bill C-45, whether in debate in the House or in committee, or back at report stage and third reading, and that has been the Liberal Party.

The member voted for time allocation at committee and voted to limit debate in the chamber. She and other New Democrats voted with the Conservatives over a thousand times, like two peas in a pod helping the Conservatives ram the bill through—

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4:50 p.m.

Conservative

The Acting Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

Order. I would remind the hon. member that we are in questions and comments. I realize there are 10 minutes for questions and comments, but in order to accommodate all members who may wish to comment, I would underline that we usually ask members to think about allocating one minute for their question and one minute for the response. That way there is time for all members to participate.

The hon. member for Parkdale—High Park.

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4:50 p.m.

NDP

Peggy Nash NDP Parkdale—High Park, ON

Mr. Speaker, I find the member's non-question a little sad, frankly, because it bears no reflection on reality. I was vice-chair of the finance committee and will remind him that we voted on every single amendment that was proposed to the finance committee. We took the time to vote on every amendment. The New Democrats supported the vast majority of the substantive amendments proposed. Frivolous amendments are another story.

Let me remind the member that it was because of the finance committee that every single amendment was voted on, unlike the proposal that the member supported, which would have seen many of those amendments die and never make it to a vote.